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writersblock_gw

How hateful is a 24' cooktop?

I'm helping a friend figure out what to do with a very tiny kitchen with almost no base cabinet space. She'd be totally happy with only a 24" under counter oven, since she has an advantium microhood that she uses for most things, and to be able to slim down to a 24" cabinet there would give here a significant increase in usable area for lower cabinet space (when you only have a total of 87 inches to work in, with 24" of that blind space, an extra 6 inches is significant).

The thing is, though, that nobody makes a 30" electric cooktop that doesn't need at least a 28" plus fraction of inch cutout, so she'd lose the only two upper drawers in the kitchen if she did that.

So, you other space-challenged folks: what's worse: very little cabinet space and a full sized range, or slimming down to a 24" ceramic electric cooktop?

I've used 24" apartment ranges and they were as hateful as could be because of the pots bumping into each other, but I do see that with smooth countertop around it rather than the stove edge bump, it might be less awful.

She's not worried about resale--this is an area of largely vacation homes/homes owned by people who have retired from cooking--just about whether or not it's going to drive her nuts on a daily basis. She doesn't cook elaborately, but there are times when you need the soup to simmer while the potatoes boil.

Thoughts, anyone?

Comments (24)

  • PRO
    modern life interiors
    14 years ago

    if you are near ikea get a new inexpensive countertop.
    Try to get the 24 inch oven base cabinet also. Hopefully this will solve the dilemma.

    No Ikea go to home depot or lowes menards etc.
    The 24 inch ove base cabinet can be sent no matter where you live from ikea.

  • lascatx
    14 years ago

    Can you post a diagram?

  • writersblock (9b/10a)
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Hi, gitananoel. Yes, this is an ikea kitchen. The problem is not making the cutout; sorry I wasn't clear. It's trying to float a full sized 30" cooktop over a 24" cabinet.

    You can do that easily enough, but the cutout clearances mean you can't use the top drawers in the cabinets on either side, which means not a single easily accessible utensil/flatware, etc. drawer in this kitchen, and that's just not an option.

    lascatx, I'll try. It's a very funky space, and all I have so far is the ikea planner file, but there are a lot of weirdnesses about the space that I can't draw there. I'm not much of a hand with sketchup, but I'll try to tat something up later.

    I should also mention that this property is worth less than 100K, so clever space savers like Liebherr fridges, etc. are out.

  • writersblock (9b/10a)
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Okay, here's a picture of my kitchen (Identical) when I lived in this buidling (I was packing to move, but it was always pretty bad, I confess). The near part of the wall on the left and the soffit will come out, but the left wall further back past the current opening to the kitchen has to stay (main breaker box). But we can sink a pantry into the wall space, so that's okay.

    The wall with the picture on it also has to stay, since that contains the plumbing from upstairs. What I'd like to do is to cut out the humorously named breakfast bar wall entirely and do a double row of cabinets there, with one row of narrow wall depth cabs facing into the dining room, but I don't yet know what's happening in her wall there. It may need to stay, just get cut down to below counter height, which will make an awkwardly wide peninsula, but that's life:

    {{!gwi}}

    Here's what I'd like to do (seen from the corner back by the door). The blind sink base gives plenty of room for a water filter (we're on well water here, so that's important), and a 24" ikea base cabinet holds a TON of stuff:

    {{!gwi}}

    Another view:

    {{!gwi}}

    Failing that, this is the best I can come up with, putting in a regular 30" range and substituting a 36" blind corner with a Lee Valley pullout for the 24" base:

    {{!gwi}}

    The planner won't let me show the short wall, and the fridge cab and the over micro cab won't move up to where they belong, but you get the idea.

    One neighbor did a diagonal corner sink and that looks wonderful, but I think it takes away too much storage space, unfortunately.

  • morgne
    14 years ago

    If I read this correctly, many of the induction cooktops are so shallow that you can still use the drawers below them. My cooktops required on three inches from the top of the cooktop to the drawer below with 1.25 of that being counter.

  • writersblock (9b/10a)
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Thanks, morgne. I thought of that, but it seems like the more high end they are, the more shallow they go. Even the cheapest induction (except for something like the two-burner Summit) is going to be a stretch for her.

    But what brand is yours, just for reference?

  • palimpsest
    14 years ago

    Are you sure that the 28" of the cutout all need the same full depth?

    In my parents kitchen they have an electric cooktop with a drawer underneath the Entire cooktop. The sides and back of the drawer box had to be cut down a bit, thats all.

    They started out with a coil cooktop in 1969 and it was replaced in the 1990s with a smooth glass top.

    The other, *very *limited option you have is a 27" drop in electric range that is still made by some companies.

    I also know someone who had a very unusual 1950s cooking unit that was all metal with an integral stainless top. Some how the old gas cooktop slightly straddled the dishwasher(?) or something that replaced an undercounter fridge --they were able to use a Miele gas cooktop in that minimal depth where it overlapped.

    look at AJ Madison

  • writersblock (9b/10a)
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    >Are you sure that the 28" of the cutout all need the same full depth?

    No, they don't, palimpsest, thanks, but they do need enough off the top to take away any place to put the drawer glides, at least all the ones I've looked at. Possibly Gaggenau or someone doesn't but all the lower end ones I've seen do.

    The drop in range idea is interesting. I'd been looking around but couldn't find any that were less than 30. I'll look some more, thanks!

  • morton5
    14 years ago

    Does the wall with the pass through have to stay?

  • writersblock (9b/10a)
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    The end of it with the picture on it does, yes, because the waste pipe is in there.

    The part with the formica BB countertop: not sure, because a lot of really goofy repairs have been done to these places and we're not yet to the point where she'll let me whack a hole in it to see what's in there. There's electric, which could go into conduit easily enough, and the current sink plumbing, but I don't know how exactly that's set up in this unit without a look. (In mine, a previous tenant had evidently liked to unwind by getting drunk and having at the plumbing, as far as I could tell, so anything could be in that wall.

    The left edge wall goes, back as far as the current doorway. The part closest to the entry door (to the left of the ghosted lines in the planner views) has to stay.

    Here's a picture of the renovation with the corner sink, which may give you a better idea:

    {{!gwi}}

  • writersblock (9b/10a)
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    morgne, yes, I've been looking and you're right, many of the induction cooktops would work, but I don't think she can afford that much for the stove + oven, let alone cooktop alone, unfortunately.

  • palimpsest
    14 years ago

    This is a dying breed but here is a 27" drop in GE Spacemaker.

    {{!gwi}}

  • palimpsest
    14 years ago

    How about doing a 24"-27" wide refrigerator? Would that gain you the space?

    I had a kitchen that was roughly 5 foot something by 7 and with a 27" refrigerator (a low end but decent GE at that point), and an 18" DW, I actually had a 30" cooktop and 30" undercounter oven.

  • palimpsest
    14 years ago

    Here is the kitchen with 30" cooktop and oven: The kitchen also had a 6'7" ceiling height. The refrigerator was to the left of the sink, and the door was even with the hinge side of the sink base. The latest owners put in SS appliances without checking the depth of the new fridge, and that left hand sink base door no longer opens fully.

  • writersblock (9b/10a)
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Thanks for taking so much trouble, palimpsest. Yes, a slimmer fridge would be a good idea, but the options hereabouts aren't great--Summit doesn't have any local dealers, for example.

    To be honest, I think the main reason she's considering a less than 30" oven is that she fell in love with this one (well, actually with its new replacement but I couldn't find that one on the ikea website). If you read the description, it's got an awful lot of features:

    Wow, I didn't like the overall space much in my kitchen when I lived back there, but I would have really hated a 6'7"" ceiling. Where I live now the bath ceilings are 7 ft and those bother me enough. :)

    Thanks again for your help.

    Someone over at ikeafans suggested using one of the other Blum drawers for those top drawers so that the hardware wouldn't be in the way, and that's something else I need to investigate.

    Here is a link that might be useful: mumsig oven

  • writersblock (9b/10a)
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Thanks, morgne.

    >Can I assume she doesn't/can't have gas?

    No, these are townhouses and it's just not possible here.

    Well, I would say that resale is not a big issue, but I myself wouldn't consider buying anyplace with no stove at all, so I can understand that she might not like the portable unit idea. I'll discuss it with her, thanks.

    However, a kind of corollary of that did occur to me, which would be a couple of the Summit two burner units, but I don't know a. if they're any good at all, and b. what kind of space she'd have to allow between them.

  • palimpsest
    14 years ago

    I am not sure what her budget is, but check out the cutout depth on these DeLonghi Units The under counter thickness is 1 25/32" --Most of that would fit within the thickness of the counter.

    She would need two @ $499 each, and at 12" wide, they could be placed with a separation between them, to approximate a 30" cooktop.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Cooktops

  • morgne
    14 years ago

    The thing about using the portables is that at a later date she could cut a hole in the countertop to fit a better/more expensive built in but I can understand being hesitant about something like that.

    Some gas units run off or can run off bottled gas. Of course, you have to have the venting for it but it's an option if a standard gas line can't be installed.

    I love separated doubles. The unit I got was actually a 3 in line unit so there are no back burners. I consider a pair of two's infinitely better than four together.

  • writersblock (9b/10a)
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Thanks, again palimpsest and morgne. i think we can find some way to make this work--she'll just have to decide on where she wants to spend and then we can go looking at specs for the different options.

    >I love separated doubles.

    I like this look, too. Do you happen know on average how much space you need to leave between the units when you do something like that?

  • palimpsest
    14 years ago

    I don't think you need leave ANY--well any more than you need to install the units properly which I would imagine would be almost immediately adjacent to each other.

    And then you could leave as much as you want.

    Of course the cheapest thing to do would be to go with a smoothtop 24" range such as made by Avanti. The key would be to have adequate countertop on each side to allow the handles to point OUT. Really, the configuration on my 30" cooktop was with burners set like a 24" range with more room on one side for the knobs...

  • desertsteph
    14 years ago

    how much does she cook? maybe she wouldn't need 2 of them. As a single person I've used a single hot plate for the past 11 yrs. haven't had the need for more. I do cook veggies in the micro tho.

    you could put in one of those 2 burner units - and then maybe she could pick up a single portable induction hob if she thinks she needs more at times. that could always be slipped into hiding when not in use.

  • growlery
    14 years ago

    I'm sorry, I didn't read every single word of this, but I don't consider being practical being hateful if it works for you.

    The appropriate cookware for this stove (smaller & more upright pans maybe) should help. And having a friend nearby with a stove, if she needs to cook for the whole fire department at once!

    Also, if it would help her, LG makes a nice little 24" refrigerator with a kind of slotty handle incorporated into the door (it doesn't stick out) that can be ordered through Home Depot, if there's one near you.

    Good luck!

  • writersblock (9b/10a)
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Thanks, everyone. I just discovered you can sort by cutout height on ajmadison, and that brought up a couple of less expensive options that might be workable. I'll have to contact those companies' local dealers and see if they can tell me for sure.